J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Insider Bradley Hicks Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) insider Bradley Hicks sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.04, for a total value of $380,080.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,796,029.96. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $187.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a one year low of $122.79 and a one year high of $190.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $159.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.03.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 4.75%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on JBHT shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.30.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 9.4% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,726 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 104.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,562,000 after acquiring an additional 8,839 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.7% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,411 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,392,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 78.6% in the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 3,328 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,048,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,486,670,000 after buying an additional 195,873 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.